Page 48 of Burning Justice

Hammer’s expression shuttered. “The kid knows how to take a beating and bounce back. Even if it’s a bus doing the hitting.”

“You got him out. That’s what you do.” She needed him to know. “You’re a rescuer.”

“Turns out I’m not.” He gave her a small smile. “I just do what God put it in me to do.”

“God?” He’d never talked about faith before. Did he believe now?

“Go figure. Being around all these Christians the last two years? It’s rubbing off. Logan told me that God made me who I am.”

“The guy who rescues people.”

Hammer said, “I wanted to be there to rescue your father.”

“Me too.”

“Maybe he’ll show up.”

Whatever that meant. “Let’s worry more about Elias and this canister.”

“He thinks you have the code. That means he could come back,” Hammer said. “He could try to snatch you again and get you to talk.” He motioned to her hand.

The doctor had done an X-ray and immobilized her hand. Maria didn’t like it, but considering the million ways this could have gone worse, she didn’t have much to complain about. She could write and shoot with her off hand.

Though, right now, maybe that was just the pain killers talking.

“If he does come back,” she said, “maybe we could be ready for him.” She liked the sound of that. Turning the tables. Getting revenge.

“You want to trap him, take him down?”

“After what he did to you guys, I want to do a lot more than that.” She cleared her throat. Maybe just after being captured and tortured herself. Not like what some people had to go through. But enough she wanted to kill Elias more than ever now.

He studied her expression. “What’s this now?”

She pretended she didn’t know what he was talking about. Who wanted to admit they had vengeance on their mind? “What are you talking about?”

“You aren’t telling me something.”

Her stomach clenched. “It doesn’t matter.”

He stood, moving to the side of the bed. “I think it does.”

Of course he would see it.

She gritted her teeth. Shook her head.

“I get that you don’t feel good right now. You might need a minute. But you’d only be hiding.” He leaned down. “Talk.”

“He was my…asset.”

Hammer didn’t move. “You knew him before he captured you?”

She nodded. “I’d learned he was part of the group holding my father, so I figured that he’d know where to find my dad.” She had to take a breath before she could continue. “So I worked him like an asset. Got him to trust me, and he started to show me intel about the group.”

“You didn’t know who he was?”

She shook her head. “I had no idea he wasn’t a contractor. That he was Delta Force and part of your team. I never saw you guys with him. When I met him, he was usually alone.”

“What happened?”

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